


Weep Not for the Past

by Eyrmia



Series: Scars of Time - DISCONTINUED [1]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: Age of Rust, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Gladiators, M/M, Medical, Moral Ambiguity, Multi, Politics, Pre-War, Romance, Terrorism, Violence, Wreckers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-02 22:36:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6585328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eyrmia/pseuds/Eyrmia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>TFP/RID 2015-verse with IDW elements. Just drabbles from pre-war Cybertron, really. Many of them center around Ratchet or other canon characters. All of it should be canon-friendly. A couple of OCs are sprinkled in as well. More tags will be added as more stories are written. Most recent chapters below.</p><p>Chapters 1-2: Just Another Story I Can't Tell<br/>After a particularly brutal beating at the hands of Impactor in the training ring, Soundwave is forced to make some life-changing decisions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just Another Story I Can't Tell (pt 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a particularly brutal beating at the hands of Impactor in the training ring, Soundwave is forced to make some life-changing decisions.
> 
> Pairing: Soundwave and Ratchet (with light Soundwave/Ratchet undertones)
> 
> Currently this drabble is un-beta'd. If you see any mistakes, please let me know. :)

Static arced across Soundwave’s vision. He forced himself to his pedes, leaning against the wall for support. The floor shook as Impactor barreled towards him, fist pulled back for a strike. Soundwave slid to the left, barely managing to avoid the punch. Impactor grabbed his shoulder and flung him into the wall, then began pummeling his face with his fists.

It was too much – Soundwave couldn’t escape! He began clawing at the Wrecker’s arms, but that did nothing. His tanks lurched as he felt an optic lens crack.

“Impactor, that’s enough!”

The hard light fence around the training ring dissipated, and Megatronus stepped forward. Impactor sent him a scathing glare, then raised his fist. Megatronus raised an optic ridge, as if daring the Wrecker to go through with the action.

From behind Megatronus, another mech appeared. He rushed to Soundwave’s side. Impactor’s gaze flicked to him, but the mech held his stare. Finally, Impactor backed down and walked to the other end of the ring.

“Come on, Soundwave. We’ll get you back in good health,” Ratchet said. His voice was soft, and his servo was firm on Soundwave’s back as he helped him to the med bay.

Soundwave looked over his shoulder, where Megatronus and Impactor were arguing.

“He’s a _councilor_ , Megatronus!”

“He is a councilor, but a councilor _on our side_.”

When they reached the med bay, Ratchet gently sat Soundwave down on a berth. He began to bustle around the room, grabbing tools and energon packs.

“Do the others _really_ hate me _that much_ for being a councilor?” Soundwave asked. The question surprised him as much as it did Ratchet.

“I don’t think they really _hate_ you,” Ratchet said, applying a nanite patch to a gash in Soundwave’s cheek. “They just need something – some _one_ to take their anger out on, and you happen to be the most…ideal target.”

“But I’m _helping_ them, Ratch’. I _know_ I’ve convinced some of the councilors – Remedy and Ultra Magnus – that Megatronus isn’t as crazy as they think he is.”

“I know. Some bots just can’t accept that there’s finally a councilor on their side.” Soundwave flinched as something in his faceplate sparked. Ratchet recoiled with a hiss.

“Pit! That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Can I see?”

Ratchet hesitated for a moment, considering, then nodded. “I suppose.” He reached over to a small cart and picked up a mirror. “I’ll warn you now, it’s not pretty.”

Soundwave tenderly took the mirror from Ratchet’s servos and held it up to his face. He nearly dropped the thing, but managed to tighten his hold before it could slip.

“How did Impactor do all that?” he whispered. Ratchet sighed, but said nothing as Soundwave continued to inspect his features. One optic lens was completely gone, and the optic itself was caved in. His other optic had tried to compensate for the lack of sight in that side, but the stress was flashing more static across his vision.

Soundwave didn’t resist as Ratchet took the mirror from his grasp.

“I think that’s enough, ‘Wave.” He subspaced the mirror, then began to clean up his tools. “It would be best if you stayed here tonight. I can’t work on anything else tonight without possibly messing it up.” Now that he really looked, Soundwave noticed that Ratchet’s optics were dimmer than usual. His movements were sluggish, and his fingers twitched very few seconds or so.

“That’s alright. Get some rest. I’ll still be here in the morning.”


	2. Just Another Story I Can't Tell (pt 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soundwave confronts the Council and Ratchet turns to a fellow doctor for advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Soundwave portion, I consulted the Covenant of Primus, which has a whole section of Soundwave's challenge to the Council. I took a few cues from those passages.

They didn’t talk much the next morning. Soundwave was given some painkillers, then headed to Iacon for his Council meeting. Of course, gasps and cries of concern greeting him when he entered the building, but Soundwave brushed them off.

“If you want, I can try and fill in those gashes,” Remedy said. “Don’t know how much I can do about that optic without registering you, though.”

“I’ve got a medic in Kaon,” was Soundwave’s reply. Well, Ratchet technically lived in Iacon, but he spent a lot of time in Kaon anyway, when he wasn’t with Orion Pax or Pharma.

Remedy gave him a knowing smile, then took his seat beside Alpha Trion. Soundwave sat across from him, next to Ultra Magnus. The empty chair on his right went seemingly unnoticed by the rest of the Council.

Shockwave hadn’t shown up to the past three meetings, and he hadn’t been seen in Tarn or Kaon either. Soundwave almost began to ask about the scientist, but thought better of it. He’d heard enough horror stories about those who asked too many questions.

“Reports from the Well state that the situation has not improved,” Elita One began, scrolling through a datapad. Beside her, Halogen sighed and shook his helm. “The majority of the population is working in the mines.”

“And some of those who are _supposed_ to be working, are actually spending their days _fighting_ ,” Halogen said, tapping his digits on the table. “As if we haven’t had enough war already. The Quintessons just left and they’re already lusting for more blood.”

“They need to stay where they belong,” Sigil agreed.

Beneath the table, Soundwave’s hands clenched into fists.

“The gladiatorial combat is most popular in Slaughter City and Kaon. Soundwave, as the ambassador for Kaon, have you noticed any of this activity occurring?” Elita One turned her inquisitive and slightly accusing gaze on him.

Oh, if only she knew.

“What would it matter?” he asked. Elita tilted her helm.

“I’m…sorry?”

“What would it matter, if what you say is true?” He narrowed his optics. “This situation is an absolute _travesty_ . How can we pretend all bots are equal when the so-called ‘individuals’ emerging from the Well are hardly more than _machines_ ? Our outdated system of governance – Form and Function – was created by the _Quintessons_ , of all people! I thought we gave up their influence long ago. We can’t go on like this.”

His gaze shifted to Sentinel, who glared right back with steely blue optics. He lowered his voice. “Every single day, I hear the chatter of a million disillusioned people. Take the lowest caste, for example. Their only goal each day is to _survive_ , or, if they follow the path of a ‘warrior,’ to have a moment of glory in the pits. Their idols are all bloodthirsty savages, and they have no knowledge nor memory of what we used to be. What _Cybertron_ used to be.”

Not a word was uttered, and he took that as encouragement to continue. Getting to his pedes, he began to cast his optics over everyone. “I can’t stand here and make believe that I’m better than those working their servos off in the mines and smelt yards. Sentinel, you used to be a beacon of hope, a symbol of revolution against oppression. Now you stand for death and suffering. And the rest of you do nothing to _stop_ this atrocity! You are weak. You are _pathetic_. Shame burns through my circuits as I sit here and listen to your revolting, self-justifying prattle every month.”

Making eye contact with Remedy, he continued. “Some of you, I hope, can make the right decisions. But the rest of you…you’ve had years, and you’ve managed to do _nothing_ . The world is still the same as it was when the Quintessons ruled, the only difference being that now a fake Prime has taken their spot as the tyrant. Tell me, what will we do? How can we _fix this_?”

The hall filled with shouts of outrage. Alpha Trion bent over his datapad, writing, as always. Sentinel was expressionless, staring at Soundwave. Elita One spoke out, saying she needed to conduct more research. Halogen agreed, stating that he would read up on how to better balance the workforce. Sentinel wanted more progress reports from the lower cities, primarily Kaon and Slaughter City.

“More delays. I’m through talking to you.” Soundwave’s optics were blazing. He could see Remedy recoil slightly, and Ultra Magnus looked as if he wanted to do something, but didn’t. “Speeches are useless here. Actions count more than words.” He ripped off his council badge, formerly emblazoned on his chassis, and stamped it into the floor. When that was done, he turned and exited the dead-silent hall.

* * *

“Wow, that  _ is _ bad.” Pharma handed the datapad back to Ratchet. “And you say  _ Impactor _ did that? Primus.” His wings fluttered. “Kaon isn’t exactly known for its medical benefits. Iacon is probably to only place that could replace his optic, but…”

“He’s not a resident,” Ratchet finished. “Right. I can’t repair it without my equipment in Iacon, but I could lose my license if I were to get caught with an unregistered patient.”

“Unfortunately, Crystal City has the same regulations.” Pharma hummed thoughtfully and grabbed another datapad. He began to pull something up. “I’ve got an idea. I don’t know how well it would work, but it could somewhat restore his vision.” After he’d found what he was looking for, he showed it Ratchet.

“A visor?”

“Something like that. Instead of just covering the optics, though, it acts as one giant optic. A bunch of old, used optic sensors placed on the visor would expand his sight, possibly even further than it originally was.” He handed Ratchet that datapad as well. “Best of all, it’s cheap and easy. As long as you use old sensors, of course. Even if they are low-quality, it shouldn’t have too big of an impact.” He nodded to the datapad. “I’d take that design to Wheeljack. He can build the screen for you, and then all you have to do is integrate the sensors.”

Ratchet’s lips quirked in a grin. “Thank you Pharma. This means a lot.” He subspaced the datapads. “I’ll let you know if there are any issues.” Now he had to visit Wheeljack. Fortunately, the engineer was just across the street.


End file.
